Life Lessons to learn from Scrabble

Those of you who know me personally know that I am an avid gamer. Amidst the Covid19 induced lockdown, the wife and I had taken to playing Scrabble to while away the time. My wife is a scrabble newbie. The discussions my wife and I had, inspired me to write this article. If you have never played Scrabble, you can find a free app on the app store of both iOS and Android. You can find a short tutorial on YouTube here.

Lesson 1: You have to make the best of the tiles you are dealt with

The wife often complaints that she has bad tiles and she is not able to make any words. But the fact of the matter is, as in scrabble, in life, we have to play with the cards (tiles) we are dealt with. We all wish we could all have millions of dollars, just like my wife wishes she had 7 blank tiles, but we all have to make the best with what we have. You can complain about it, or look for opportunities. A well placed S at just the right place can net you 37 points.

Lesson 2: Be at the right place at the right time

My wife has refused to play with me after losing 6 straight games(more on that story ahead). But I am very proud of how she has grown as scrabble player. She has learnt strategy from observing my game. Where I used to defeat her by a margin of 60 points, I won the last game by a margin of 2. Scrabble is not about knowing big words, or even all the words, its using the words that you know and combining them with double or triple letter and word scores to earn maximum points. As in Scrabble, life is not about having knowledge of everything, but making the best of the knowledge that you have, to succeed. Who knows, a TO or a QI combined with a Triple Word Score might net you more points than making SEVENTEEN. #TrueStory

Lesson 3: If you want to lead, Act first (First Mover Advantage)

My wife always wants to start the game (make the first word). It’s because the person who starts the game has an advantage. (S)He is free to make any word they want (from the 7 tiles you receive). From the second tile onwards your word has to start with, end with or involve, one or more letters already on the board (Restriction). Us MBAs learn about First Mover Advantage in Marketing101. The market is like a scrabble board. If you are first, the board is clear. No restrictions. You set the rules. You set expectations. The other players who enter the market will follow the rules you set.

Lesson 4: Don’t wait to Act

This may look like the same advice as the previous point at first glance, but it is not. This realization occurred, as I was writing the article, while playing a game with my wife. I chanced upon a very nice opening which was netting me 22 points. But I realized that if I waited for one letter, I could make a better word next turn, netting me almost 48 points. So I let that position go, making a word somewhere else. Next turn, the wife swooped in and made a 16 point word in the same place that I had left. I felt bad for letting that position get away. Don’t wait for the right time to apply for a job, ask for a promotion, or start a business. The right time is now. If you don’t, somebody will swoop in and take that opportunity from your hands. Remember the satisfaction of trying is better than the regret of waiting.

Lesson 5: Everyone’s perspective is different. Respect it

My wife often complaints that she is not as good as me at spotting opportunities to score big points. She may make a 6 letter word for 20 points and find me hitting her with a 4 letter word worth 58 points. It’s a matter of perspective. Where she looks at opportunities to make big meaningful words, I look for opportunities to score the most points. She is right. I am not wrong. Just because I may not play the way she does, I appreciate when she makes a word like ELATION. Everyone will look at things differently. Do not question other people’s choices. They may be living their life the way they want. You could use your blank tile as a Z (worth 10 points), but do not question someone who used it as an A(worth only 1 point) because that completed their word.

Lesson 6: Never Celebrate too Early

Scrabble is my sister’s favourite game. So naturally, I called up my sister after my first win at Scrabble to gloat. But she, like any good sister-in-law, wanting to defend her fellow sister-in-law, came up with a silly notion, that a champion is one who can consecutively win 6 games of scrabble against their opponent. And even though I knew she was making up that rule, I was confident that it was an easy enough task. I already had one win under my belt. All I needed were 5 more. The next 4 were easy enough. On the final one, I was in the lead by a good 17 points, and daydreaming about prancing around my wife, dancing on Champion by Dwayne Bravo, when I win, when all of a sudden, my wife hits me with a 38 point word on the second last turn. With just 2 tiles left, there was no way that I would be able to cover the deficit her. Needless to say that she won that round, and I had to start from square one, winning the next 6 games, before proudly calling up my sister and proclaiming myself Scrabble champion. In short, never celebrate until you are over the finish line. You may become distracted, and not able to foresee any challenges that might derail you completely.

These were my six Life Lessons from Scrabble. Hope this article brought you as much joy as winning in Scrabble brought me.